Magi could boast of having many qualities that set her above other ponies. Good fortune, a sharp sense for business, and an extremely loving girlfriend... Magi truly believed she was an incredibly lucky pegasus when she left Manehattan that morning. She was convinced that her day would only get brighter by nightfall.
However, that confidence crumbled as the afternoon unfolded, facing a series of misfortunes she hadn't anticipated at all.
First, the delicious high-quality coffee she had brought with her was ruined when a pink pony bumped into her while boarding the train at noon. Although the incident was clearly an accident, Magi felt that it should have put her on alert, like a warning of what was to come.
Second, her attempt to sow discord among Princess Twilight's friends, using Rainbow Dash as a tool, resulted in a resounding failure. She had expected more from them, and their disbelief in the irrationality called "friendship" almost made her feel nauseous. Their bond was much stronger than she had calculated.
Third, the train she was traveling on was attacked by a mysterious enemy who eventually kidnapped them. Although, being honest with herself, she never could have guessed that was coming. These were, in theory, matters for the princess and her entourage. Magi had the option to simply withdraw and let things take their natural course...
But she didn't.
She had a feeling. Magi had always heard an inner voice that guided her when it came to making decisions. It could be her subconscious or even her cutie mark acting as a guide. The source didn't matter as much as the fact that this voice had always led her to make the right choices. That inner voice had never betrayed her.
Until now.
Magi stared at herself in the mirror, watching the desperation reflected on her face. She now cursed the reliable inner voice that had always guided her. But this voice had no intention of staying silent.
"You messed up, and now you're a loser just like them... accept reality," her mocking reflection spoke.
"NO, I HAVEN'T MESSED UP! I'LL GET OUT OF HERE JUST LIKE ALWAYS! DO YOU UNDERSTAND?" Magi responded with fury to her own reflection.
"Of course, and tell me, what will you do now? You saved the princess's friends, and now they're at your mercy, just as you planned. Do you think they'll believe you when you tell them that all these magical artifacts and gadgets you have are just for personal defense?" her reflection laughed, pointing at the three stone orbs floating above her, the communicator in her ear, and the other technological accessories she was wearing.
"They're desperate, they need me. They'll believe what I tell them... I just have to convince them to work together, that'll be enough."
"Oh, sure... then you'll defeat the villains and be named the savior of Equestria. Magi, the super-friend! Ha ha ha ha," her reflection sneered.
"Shut up!" a furious Magi responded to her reflection, her voice echoing in the small room.
"You know, you should just give all this up and accept that we're beyond salvation... at least then we can return to the family in peace..."
"SHUT UP!" Magi shouted with a mix of rage and despair, slamming her hoof into the bathroom mirror.
The mirror shards fell to the floor with a tinkling sound. Then, a sweaty Magi sat down on the floor and stayed still, staring blankly at the ceiling. She wasn't thinking about anything... except one thing. With just a focus, the three magical orbs floating around her began to spin and form a circular screen.
The screen was blank.
Magi quickly dispelled the magic, feeling the frustration welling up in her chest. She huddled even tighter, trying to push away the loneliness that enveloped her.
"Why is there no future?" she asked herself softly, almost sobbing. Her plans and hopes had been unraveled in a way she had never before imagined.
// -----------------------
The landscape where the Ponyville to Canterlot train tracks once stretched was now submerged in a vast lake that covered the entire lower part of the meadow.
A fierce wave of enchanted water had been unleashed in that place, tearing up trees, shattering rocks, and crushing the train that stood in its path. The wave had swept away everything in its wake, leaving the remnants of the train scattered like floating leaves or submerged in the depths of the lake.
Standing on the only rock that protruded in the middle of that lake, Mannah looked out at the destruction he had caused with one of his most powerful elemental magic attacks.
"Maybe I overdid it a bit," he thought to himself, as he couldn't perceive any signs of life in the water. He was supposed to capture the ponies, but given the current condition of the terrain, it was very likely that they had been eliminated...
Beside him, Badwhiz seemed to be impressed, though it was hard to confirm, given that much of his body was composed of shadows.
"Uhmm," the sub-leader of the Knights of Order cleared his throat. "This is just a small sample of my immense power. MAY THE ENEMIES OF CUNÁBULA REPENT OF THEIR FOOLISHNESS!" he exclaimed proudly, raising his hooves towards the sky. However, he wobbled a bit due to his unfamiliarity with his new pony body.
"Hooo," replied Badwhiz, tapping his hooves on the ground.
For Mannah, those gestures were quite entertaining. His species didn't have hooves or so few limbs, and in general, quadruped creatures were not to his liking. Nevertheless, the attention he received from that pony was curious and even amusing.
"Now that I think about it... I never saw Danu react in that way even though his race is related to the ponies," Mannah reflected, quickly dismissing that thought. He was being naive. Danu was an exceptional case among his people. If he really had to compare ponies to leoponies, it would be wiser to use someone with more common sense, like Dana, the king's favorite daughter.
At that moment, a mental message reached him. Balor had awakened.
"Squire Badwhiz," Mannah called.
"Present, my Lord," exclaimed Badwhiz, ready to receive orders.
"I no longer require your escort. Our enemies have been swept away by my tide. However, the princess is still fighting in the hills. Go and assist the pawn under our control in subduing the princess without delay," Mannah ordered without turning around.
"As you wish," said Badwhiz quickly, bowing his head. But before he left, something stopped him and caught Mannah's attention.
"What is it?" Mannah said in an authoritative tone.
"Forgive me, Grand sub-leader Mannah, but what do you plan to do with the Cockatrice Titanicus?" Badwhiz asked, keeping his gaze low. Not far from them, the body of the immense cockatrice floated in the water. That should be impossible for a creature of such size or weight, suggesting some unique quality of its species.
"Uhmm," Mannah murmured in thought. He could rescue the child's pet and use it against the princess, but acting like that might seem like an unjustified reward. And honestly, Badwhiz had not yet proven to be useful in the slightest. He had been brought as a disposable pawn in case the ponies attacked him while he channeled the spell, which had not happened, and the child had simply been a spectator.
"He has served his purpose. And you have not finished fulfilling yours. Ceridwen will take care of the rest. Is that clear, Squire Badwhiz?" Mannah said with a tone of voice that made it clear he would not tolerate any more setbacks.
"Yes, Grand sub-leader Mannah," replied Badwhiz quickly, and in the blink of an eye, flapping his black wings, he soared into the sky towards the hills.
// -----------------------
Back in the medical car...
"Wait a minute, Pinkie... are you saying that Magi stayed on the train, hiding in one of the bathrooms all this time?" Applejack asked, incredulous, still lying in a bed.
"Yes, that's what she told us," Rarity confirmed.
"She mentioned that she cared a lot about us after Vanilla kicked her out of the carriage. She said she had a bad feeling and decided to stay," added Fluttershy.
Applejack scratched her head; something in that story didn't quite fit, or rather, it didn't fit at all. She remembered Twilight mentioning something about the Grand Barrier expelling anyone who could help them, but did it only refer to animals? The farmer shook her head; she still felt a bit dizzy to think clearly...
"Applejack, dear, how are you feeling?" Rarity asked.
"Uh... much better. Mmm..." Applejack flexed her forelimbs and then got up from the bed without any issues. "And where's Magi?"
"She went to the bathroom... said she needed to prepare properly," Pinkie Pie replied while munching on a bag of Yumi cookies.
Just then, the bathroom door opened, and Magi emerged. However, she wasn't the same smiling Magi who had saved them using one of her emergency capsules and then tended to their recovery. The Magi now facing them had a cold and dark look, equipped with all sorts of magical artifacts and tools, and appeared ready for battle.
These were her true colors.
Sensing danger, Applejack immediately positioned herself in front of her friends. "Who are you?"
Tension filled the air between the group of friends and the red-maned pegasus.
Magi sighed.
"I've already introduced myself before... look, we don't have time for this. We need to work together," said Magi without displaying any emotions.
"Do we really? How do we know you're not on Vanilla's side?" Applejack questioned.
"Vanilla? Do you mean one of the guys who attacked you? Or the kid who serves him?"
"Uhmm?" Applejack had no answer; her mind had become perplexed trying to understand the question posed to her. Magi realized that, despite Applejack's determined appearance, she was still disoriented and weakened.
"I can help you, but we're running out of time. I just... need you to trust me, please," Magi implored, but it was clear she was struggling to say it.
Applejack glanced at her friends, who looked just as concerned and exhausted as she did. Should she trust that pony who seemed so threatening and emitted a dark aura? What would Twilight do?
Finally, after a long pause.
"All right," Applejack said. Her friends seemed to regain some hope at that moment.
"Perfect, let's not waste any time, then," Magi replied with cheer, so much so that her colors seemed to have returned to her face. "You mentioned Vanilla earlier, well, I don't know her. But I do know these guys."
Before she finished her words, one of the orbs floating above Magi moved away from her and positioned itself on the ceiling. Then, a light emitted from the orb and generated a holographic image in the middle of the car.
Applejack and the rest of the ponies approached the hologram and soon recognized the figures displayed on it.
"The Knights of Order?" Applejack exclaimed in surprise.
"Yes, that's them. They're responsible for this disaster and are here to finish their job. And it seems they have local help..." Magi said, changing the hologram's image to that of Badwhiz.
"But that's impossible! They're supposed to be locked in Tartarus!" Rarity exclaimed, agitated.
"Well, they're not. Their princess seems to have made a terrible mistake in underestimating them," Magi concluded, casting a resentful look at the rest of the ponies.
Now, consternation was palpable among all of them. Disheartened, Applejack removed her hat, understanding the gravity of the situation. Twilight had previously confided in her about the great danger she felt in keeping this group of individuals imprisoned. Applejack had advised her to try harder to find Cunabula and mend the situation with that realm, but it was evident that this advice had been futile.
She and her friends were trapped at the mercy of not just one villain, but six villains, each as dangerous as a King Sombra. And there was one more they knew nothing about.
Applejack put her hat back on. Now she had a better idea of what they were dealing with, which provided some slight relief. But there was still one question.
"Why didn't you leave?" Applejack asked aloud to Magi, silencing the murmurs of the rest of her friends.
An expression of anguish crossed Magi's face.
"I... didn't know how grave the situation was. I thought of staying and learning more about you. You always win... I never imagined things would end up like this," Magi finished, dejectedly lowering her head.
Applejack had a good sense of detecting truth in others. And right now, Magi was finally being very honest. She also noticed that Magi had swollen eyelids, evidence of the distress and sorrow she was feeling.
"Well... right now, we need all the help we can get to get out of this mess," Applejack said with resignation. Although she had a multitude of questions, like how Magi knew so much or why she wanted to learn about them, seeking answers to those doubts wouldn't get them anywhere and would probably worsen the situation. So there was only one important question she could ask. "Do you have any plan?"
Magi's eyes sparkled for a moment. It was evident to all that she had one.
"Yes, yes, I have one... well, not exactly a plan... more like a supposition... a theory..." Magi began to trot in place, clearly anxious. "I've been thinking and thinking... about what that kid said about giving them the Elements of Harmony. So I thought about why it mattered so much to them. I've heard that you had them in the past and that they were powerful tools to defeat the enemies that attacked Equestria, but then they said you lost them, and now what's left of their magic exists within each of you... so I thought, what's the problem?"
All the ponies seemed very confused by Magi's words, especially Applejack.
"What's the problem?" Rarity repeated.
"Yes, yes, that's it! What's the problem? If the magic of the Elements only persists within you, then sooner or later, it will disappear. After all, we're not immortal, well... maybe the princess is... but we're not. Everyone's time comes at some point, and when that happens, the Element they represent will also be lost. So... why do the Knights of Order do this? Are they doing it just to prevent them from being used? If so, they'd only need to eliminate one of you or capture one, right? Then they couldn't recover the power of the Elements of Harmony as a whole, could they? Or... could they?" Magi suddenly asked all the ponies, with an expression that reflected the twisted hope she eagerly sought to find in them.
"Well... um..." all the ponies were somewhat disoriented. Twilight was the one who understood these magical topics better, but the question Magi posed was valid, though it felt rather forced. To start with, they hadn't delved much into those subjects. Twilight, in some experiments, had attempted to activate the magic of the Elements with just a trio of them, and the results were quite disappointing. The magic worked, but it wasn't powerful enough, and it left them very exhausted. Together, they were much stronger, there was no doubt about that. However, the case of regaining the magic of one of them if something happened to her... was that really something Twilight hadn't anticipated? And if it were, how would she do it?
The group of pony friends fell into deep reflection under the undulating shadows inside the medical car. Then, a ray of pink light shone among them. Or rather, a ray of pink light named Pinkie Pie.
"That's it! The crystals! The crystals!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed excitedly to her friends. "Twilight could place a part of our magic inside a crystal and make a set with each of us! And not just that! Any of us could use it since we are part of the set! It could be stored and given to another pony to learn to use it in the future! That way, the magic wouldn't be lost! It's brilliant!"
A fire seemed to ignite in Magi's eyes, as if all her hopes were finally coming true. That's what she wanted to hear.
"Wonderful! The princess must have given you something like that, right? Because such a powerful object must have the strength to defeat the Knights of Order right now," Magi exclaimed in a joy-filled neigh.
Pinkie Pie and her friends were left stunned, all the baseless hope they had suddenly felt from Pinkie's joy vanished and disappeared. Looking at each other dejectedly, Applejack finally replied, "I'm sorry, Twilight didn't give us anything like that..."
"How unfortunate..." said Magi, looking completely hopeless.
Applejack raised an eyebrow. Was Magi... pretending?
"Wait!" Fluttershy suddenly shouted, capturing everyone's attention. "Ahh... um... I'm sorry, I should have said it earlier... but Twilight gave me this just before leaving the infirmary. I think it's exactly what we need now, right?"
From Fluttershy's mane emerged a rosary of six stones, three of them were white, and the other three had shades of purple, yellow, and blue. The glow emanating from these gems was almost identical to what the original Elements of Harmony once had.
"These gems are... Beautiful!" exclaimed Rarity, whose eyes sparkled intensely, just like those of all the present ponies.
Encouraged once again by this miraculous opportunity, the pony friends rejoiced, as they finally had something they could use to defend themselves.
"Mmm, wait... Shouldn't they all be the same color?" Magi pointed out three of the gems that were white.
"No... Twilight told me they needed to be completed with the magic of Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie. I didn't really understand what she was talking about at the time... she just asked me to carry it in case something happened to her," said Fluttershy, clearly saddened.
All the ponies then remembered with sorrow the sudden attack by Rainbow Dash, the loss of Twilight, and the chaos that ensued afterward.
Then Applejack finally noticed the obvious...
"Wait... are we still on the train? They'll come for us any moment now! We have to get out of here!" Applejack exclaimed in alarm.
But Magi just laughed at the ponies panicking.
"Eh?" the ponies looked at each other strangely.
"Please, don't be alarmed. We're completely safe. Instead, you must complete those crystals as soon as possible. Only then will we have a chance to get out of here and save your princess and your other friend," Magi said as she looked out the window.
Applejack couldn't refuse that plan... but really, were these crystals their best resource to defeat the Knights of Order? Why didn't Twilight mention something like this before the fight against the Cockatrice?
With suspicion, Applejack watched Magi from behind, while the suspicious pegasus, with a dark smile, distractedly gazed out the window.
// -----------------------
"Where are they?" Ceridwen thought with growing frustration as she checked the wreckage of the train for the third time.
She had taken over from Mannah in the mission to capture Princess Twilight and her friends. Although the sub-leader of the Knights of Order had promised that he would handle all the work, in the end, he had delegated the task to her. It didn't surprise her at all, considering the great disaster he had caused with his massive elemental water attack; searching through the debris he himself had created was something a politician like him would never do.
"Politicians and their promises..." she thought as she levitated one of the waterlogged train cars with her magic. "If only they had sent me alongside Balor and Taranis... everything would have turned out differently."
That trio of Knights had carried out a multitude of operations outside the world, mostly successful. Espionage, sabotage, recovery of magical artifacts, manipulation of realms... the list was long. Ceridwen was proud of her impeccable record. She was known and respected throughout the Brotherhood of Cunabula.
From the beginning, she had been skeptical about the development of the mission.
The involvement of the six Knights of Order was not common. Morrigan always stayed close to the temple, and Mannah spent more time in the council's offices than in the field of missions. Even Danu had a close connection to the king, and it was rare to see him visit regular troops.
None of those three understood what a battlefield was truly like. How a war was fought. Worse yet... how to find peace.
Cunabula had remained isolated in the shadows of the world for a long time, and now they had burst into it forcefully.
Ceridwen had suggested caution in the initial attack on Equestria. She had proposed sending three members of the Knights of her choice to start an initial mission of espionage and sabotage in that realm.
But she wasn't listened to. After the disaster in Ornitia, Danu declared that such methods were ineffective and would only give the ponies time to prepare. He argued that everything should end in a decisive frontal attack. Mannah and Morrigan supported this idea. With the backing of the Council and the King, Ceridwen simply had to bow her head and allow Danu's leadership to prevail.
Was it a mistake... not to challenge him? No, Ceridwen always saw herself as a servant. Receiving orders and carrying them out in the name of Cunabula was the purpose of her life. Still, she felt that everything could have turned out better if the judgment of the high command had been more... equitable.
"SPLOOFFFFFFFFF" echoed in the middle of the lake artificially created by Mannah's magic. Ceridwen had dropped the wreckage of the train carelessly. There was no trace of the ponies.
The reflection of the orange armor she wore on Badwhiz's body shimmered sharply in the rippling waters of the lake. This same body was now used by Ceridwen.
"I understand..." Ceridwen thought coldly as she contemplated her own reflection in the water.
Not far away, some small red birds with striking black feathers watched her intently.
// -----------------------
It was a tough battle, the toughest in her life.
Blow after blow. Her opponent was retreating further and further. Rainbow Dash could sense it. She wouldn't give him a chance to breathe, not even an opportunity to think.
Her other friends had fallen; it was her duty to avenge them.
She was the last one standing. The fate of Equestria rested on her hooves.
Vainilla, cowardly protected by his magical bubble, withstood the constant attacks she was delivering. But that wouldn't last forever. It wasn't the first time she had fought against mages who thought their defenses were absolute and that their opponents would tire of repeating the same attack.
Types like those didn't know Rainbow Dash. They all ended up learning a harsh lesson. And Vainilla was learning it too. It showed on his face. He was getting tired.
Pushing Vainilla through the sky, Dash kept hitting him amidst the rocks, the hills, the trees.
It didn't matter where; she would keep doing it until that cover fell.
Then finally, a breach and an explosion of light.
But Rainbow wasn't surprised. It was a pathetic trick to scare her. She charged straight in, catching her enemy in mid-air. Before he could react, she swiftly slid behind him and grabbed him by his front legs, immobilizing him. Swift and furious, they continued their flight into the sky, and then, like a comet, they both plummeted towards the earth, spinning wildly so that her enemy couldn't concentrate.
Completely incapacitated by that incredible attack, Vainilla offered no resistance. His end had come. A violent explosion erupted amidst a small forest.
Vainilla lay defeated on the ground, in the middle of a crater. At the last second, Rainbow Dash had let go of his body, allowing him to crash to the ground.
Victory and arrogance were reflected in Rainbow Dash's flight as she positioned herself over her opponent, placing a hoof on the defeated villain's head.
It was all over, and once again, Equestria was safe.
Soon, the great magical barrier began to dissolve, and friends and acquaintances of Dash arrived from all directions.
"You're amazing, Dash! You did it!" cheered the Wonderbolts.
"It was nothing," Dash replied without modesty.
"You are an extraordinary pegasus. It is a great honor to be in your presence," said Princess Celestia, bowing her head, accompanied by the other princesses.
"Please, you all have wings, don't you?"
"Certainly, the pegasus is AMAZING! Someone should rename Equestria and call it Dashiland," Discord exclaimed, wearing an enormous Rainbow Dash suit.
"Hey! What are you doing here?"
Then all the ponies and creatures present fell silent. A dark figure advanced among them. Those enormous horns he sported spoke of his identity. Grogar, the father of monsters, slowly approached Rainbow Dash and bowed before her.
"You are the most amazing pony in the world," the dark ram said in his deep and unmistakable voice.
"Yes, whatever you say... WHERE IS MY AUDIENCE?!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, raising her hoof and looking at everyone around her.
Multicolored explosions and sparkling lights, a rain of cheers reached her, as intense as the roar of a hundred stadiums, everyone shouting her name, making her vibrate and filling her with a sense of complete fulfillment.
Rainbow Dash was Rainbow Dash, the greatest hero who had ever existed or would ever exist.
Then, a real rain fell on her face, soaking her and silencing all those fantasies.
Rainbow Dash looked around again; the world was no longer colorful and bright. It was now gray and dusty. And under her hooves was not Vainilla's body, but Twilight's.
The pegasus fell silent for a few seconds, watching the scene. Then the memory of her fight with Badwhiz came back to her and how she was defeated. And then... how she had attacked Vainilla, no... Twilight.
"Is it a dream? It's a dream, right?" she told herself, incredulous, biting her hoof. She felt pain, but she didn't wake up. She wasn't in a dream anymore...
It was reality, or rather, a nightmare.
With tears in her eyes, Rainbow Dash quickly took Twilight's body and began to shake her, hoping for a reaction... but nothing happened. "WAKE UP, TWILIGHT! PLEASE, WAKE UP! TELL ME THIS IS A DREAM!"
However, there was no response. There was no life in that battered and broken body.
Dash began to cry, real tears, torrents of sadness falling to the ground, tears born from the terrible tragedy she had caused.
"WHY? WHY DID THIS HAPPEN? I DON'T UNDERSTAND, WHY? WHY?!" Rainbow Dash cried, cradling her friend's fallen body.
"Rainbow, I'm okay... don't cry," came Twilight's voice.
"HOW CAN YOU EXPECT ME NOT TO CRY AFTER I... HUH?!" Rainbow jumped back, pushing aside the false body of Twilight she had been holding. There, standing, battered and bruised but alive, was Twilight, still with a smile.
Rainbow Dash's mind went blank; everything seemed too unreal to react. Before the pegasus could open her mouth, Twilight began to speak...
"You're a huge fan of Daring Do stories. You hate eating pies. You had a secret date with Soarin last spring, and when you were little, you loved wearing white dresses and having your parents call you 'little rainbow princess,' even though you said you hated it," Twilight finished, almost breathless.
Rainbow Dash had heard enough. Whether this was reality or not didn't matter anymore. She didn't care about the Twilight doll on the ground either. The only thing she was sure of was what she was going to do next.
"TWILIGHT!" Rainbow Dash cried out, embracing her friend amidst tears of happiness. Twilight, on the other hand, felt sore from the beatings she had taken. They weren't serious injuries, but she was exhausted.
"Are you okay? Did I hurt you...?" Rainbow asked frantically.
"Don't worry, Rainbow, just give me a moment to catch my breath."
Then, a dark meteor struck not far from them, and from the dust emerged a figure they knew. Enveloped in shadows, it was Badwhiz, who had finally caught up with them, ready to put an end to this battle.
"PLEASE, GIVE US A BREAK!" Twilight complained next to Dash, just as a black lightning bolt shot towards them.